“Penguin” It’s finally here.
The new original series, which premieres Thursdays on HBO and runs through Sept. 29 before moving to primetime on Sunday nights, stars Colin Farrell as the title character, a low-level criminal figure named Oswald Cobb who wants to make a name for himself, counts. in Gotham City. (His name comes from the way he carries himself, with a swagger in his step and running a sub-zero nightclub.) Can he successfully play two crime families off against each other while avoiding Sofia Falcone (Christine Milioti), who shares his big dreams of conquering the city’s underworld?
Perhaps the biggest question remains: When will “Penguin” take place? And how does it fit into director Matt Reeves’ larger saga of epic Batman crimes?
Read on to find out, but keep in mind that there are Minor spoilers ahead.
When does “Penguin” take place?
One week after the events of “Batman.”
About the events of “Batman?”
Well, several things, actually: One, Batman (played by Robert Pattinson) as an actual human being living in Gotham and taking on crime. Second, there was the Gotham mayoral election, which was ultimately won by an idealistic young candidate named Bella Real (Jaime Lawson). And then there was a terrorist attack orchestrated by the Riddler (Paul Dano) that destroyed much of the seawall surrounding Gotham. (There was also a coordinated plot by Riddler’s henchmen to kill Real.) “Batman” director (and “Penguin” executive producer) Matt Reeves said “Batman” was a superhero origin story and more of an origin story for his fraud gallery. And here we are.
Is there clear reference to these events?
Them! There’s also a really cool and creepy episode where you see one of the supporting characters go through a horrible day of Riddler attacks. That’s all we’re saying right now, but it’s extreme.
Anything else we should know about those fateful events, exactly one week before The Penguin takes place?
The only other thing you really need to remember is that Carmine Falcone (played by John Turturro in the movie and on Mark Strong’s show) died that tragic week. Sofia is his daughter. But he also has another daughter we already know about: Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz), aka Catwoman.
Why is it so important to set a time frame?
In addition to watching the criminal power vacuum (and how the Penguin comes to terms with power), it’s also important because you’re watching the city try to change itself in the shadow of tragedy. And you see a lot of that in this series: infrastructure failing, the power grid struggling to meet demand, how a powerful world (both literally and figuratively) can emerge when important people look the other way. The results are spread throughout “Penguin.”
“The Penguin” arrives on HBO on Thursday, September 19.
